Foreign Variable
by wildface97
Summary: A certain variable introduces itself into Eren's life, and changes his course of fate forever. AU


_Summary: A certain variable introduces itself into Eren's life, and changes his course of fate forever. AU._

_AN: Due to seeing plenty of AU's, I decided to try my own. There is a large amount of this set in a school environment, unfortunately, I'm going to be biased and use the school system I was accustomed to here in the UK, so sorry if you don't understand the way I write it._

_Just to alert you, everyone is 8 years old at the beginning of this story. Age progresses further on._

* * *

Streams of sunlight drifted through the window, littering Eren's table with dancing lights as he wrote fleetingly on his paper. He tried to ignore the pretty patterns and fluid movements, concentrating his hardest on his work that he desperately wanted to finish. He had been late to school that morning, getting distracted by some bullies on his way to education, and picking a fight with them before arriving at the gates. By the time he arrived at school, he had missed a little over the first quarter of the lesson, and as such was told that he wasn't allowed to leave class until he got all of the work done, and Eren did not want to miss his break time.

The image of Armin, hiding behind the corner of the school building, hugging his back that contained his lunch, in fear of the bullies that usually swarmed to him if it wasn't for Eren to be there to protect him, appeared in his mind. He _couldn't_ miss break, Armin could get hurt, and that _wasn't_ _fair_! They had once told the teacher, in hopes that she would punish the bullies, but all it did was make them angrier, and picked on them more, using petty names like _Teacher's Pet_ and _Tattle-tale_. They decided not to inform the adults as it only caused more teasing.

Eren blinked, confused as to why his hand was no longer writing. He realised he had spaced out, thinking about Armin, and shook his head subtly in an attempt to refocus. He spaced out too easily, which often led him into trouble with his teachers as he never seemed to finish his work. He all of his effort into his work, he was sure of that, but when his mind found something interesting or new he lost focus quickly.

Rubbing his eyes, he mentally told himself to shut up; _he was drifting off again_! Attempting to finish his final sentence, he flinched as the bell rang, indicating the end of the lesson and the beginning of break time. His pencil scattered across his page as he scribbled down the last word, slamming his pencil into the tableware, before leaping out of his seat and crying out "Finished!" at the teacher. The other students were just beginning to rise out of their seats, and giggled at Eren's actions. His teacher released a sigh, obviously used to Eren's hyper-activeness.

"Alright then Eren," she sighed, grabbing his sheet from his little hands, "I guess you can go and have your break with the others."

He hooted in success, balling his fists into the air, before hastily packing away his pencil case and book into his backpack, before shifting it onto his back and scurrying out of the room, where a timid Armin waited for him.

"Yo, Armin!" Eren cheered, patting his friend roughly on his shoulder. Armin gave a small smile; he was very shy and didn't have any other friends aside from Eren, but Eren knew that he held a smart brain that made his opinions extremely valuable. Sometimes he even said things that Eren himself didn't understand, but he didn't mind. His friend was a super genius, and that was a very cool friend to have.

"So, where should we sit?" he asked, a cheesy grin on his face. It made Armin smile a little more, probably out of amusement.

"I don't mind I guess; do you want to sit by the front gate?"

"Sure!"

They both made their way out into the playground, skimming around the edge of the building and avoiding the other children playing together. Another teacher stood outside, watching out for bad behaviour and supervising the children that were stood facing the wall in punishment for misbehaving. Seeing Eren and Armin about to disappear around the corner, he spoke up.

"Oi, brats, where d'you think you're going?"

Eren peered across his shoulder, giving off one of his well-known grins, "Just sitting by the front gate, ! We won't cause no trouble, promise!"

Hannes rubbed his chin for a moment, contemplating letting the kids go in a painfully slow manner. "As long as you aren't late for the next bell, go right ahead!" he concluded. He knew both children very well, as they both lived down his street, and knew that as long as there were no other kids with them, they wouldn't cause any trouble by themselves. Both children smiled, before running along out of sight.

Once they were by the front gate, they settled down at the trunk of the closest tree, watching the barred fence in disinterest.

"Don't you think it's weird that they shut the gate up and stuff when we're still inside?" Eren asked, starting the conversation.

"I think it's more to stop weirdoes getting in," Armin explained, "Or to stop kids from just walking home when they please."

"But what if there was an emergency? Like, if the school just burst into flames! How would we get out?"

"We have an entire playground and field to evacuate into. If it got that bad I'm sure the adults would just unlock it."

"Hm, I guess you're right again, huh Armin?"

"Again? I wouldn't say that, I'm just guessing as much as you are."

Eren grinned, putting his arms behind his head, "But your guesses are smart guesses, and are usually right too! Maybe you should be a teacher when you grow up, and use your guessing smarts to make all the kids smart!"

Armin scratched his cheek, smiling slightly from embarrassment, "To be fair, I wouldn't want to go back to a school. I bet even as a teacher I'd get bullied. Maybe if I became a scientist? Do scientists get bullied?"

"Hell no!" Eren replied, obviously excited at the aspect of his best friend becoming someone so amazing, "Scientists invent things and go to space, and help humanity! What better thing could there be?"

Armin's smile became more genuine, as he twirled his fingers together in his palms, "Hm, that'd be nice I guess. To help humanity, I mean," his gaze rose to meet Eren's, "So, what would you be?"

Eren's face slackened, and for a moment his eyes flickered across his face, almost as if confused. He began to open his mouth to form an answer, when the sound of metal clashing startled them both out of conversation. Looking back to the gate, they spotted a woman and her child on the opposite side of the barrier; the mother had her hands encasing the metal, as if trying to open the gate somehow. Both held confused expressions, before the mother looked up and spotted the boys by the tree.

"Ah, excuse me!" she called to them, her accent thick and foreign. They didn't know who she was, nor the child she was with, and Eren whispered to Armin, "Do you think they're the reason the gate's locked up?"

"I'm… I'm not sure. Eren, don't tell them _anything_, but keep an eye on them. I'm gonna go get ," he began to run off towards the playground, then halted and turned back to Eren, "And don't get close enough for them to reach you! If they are creeps, you can't let them capture you! Just, distract them or something, but _stay safe_."

And with that Armin resumed running off for help. Now feeling a little anxious at Armin's warning, he faced the newcomers warily. The mother looked relieved at the sight of him turning back towards her, and her arm rose through the gaps between the bars, wafting at him, "Please, could you come here please?" she asked, which only made Armin's warning echo loudly in the back of his head.

He cautiously made his way towards her, but stood several feet away from the bar gaps, safely out of reach, but face to face with the strangers. The child was most definitely related to the mother, he decided, with their slanted eyes and pale skin. Eren's own skin was tanned and rough from play, whilst the two in front of him looked like porcelain dolls, which was kinda creepy if he thought too much about it.

He chewed his bottom lip, wondering if he should say something. Luckily the mother spoke up again, "Could you, ah, open the gate please? We can't come in."

Rubbing his shoulder unconsciously, he replied, "Ah, only the teachers can do that. My friend," he pointed to the direction Armin had ran off to," he's gone to get a teacher."

Her face brightened in understanding, "I see! Yes, that's good, thank you!"

She peered down at what he guessed is her daughter, as she spoke in another language he didn't understand. The girl looked up at her mother, then at him, before looking back to her mother and giving a small nod of her head. Her mother smiled, placing a hand on her daughter's head. Her daughter had the facial expressions of a rock; unmoving, unchanging, and uninteresting.

"My daughter," the mother began, "She is Mikasa, and, ah, is beginning school today. Here."

Eren raised an eyebrow at the uncertain tone her mother had. It sounded like she herself wasn't sure of what she was saying. A faint buzzing sound rang in the background, but he ignored it.

"Ah, Mikasa doesn't know many English," she added, patting her hand on Mikasa's head, "She only know _yes_, _no_, and _hello_, but, ah, we think she can learn more with other English speakers."

He wondered why she was explaining this to _him_, when Hannes was on his way to speak to her, but felt that if he interrupted her he would be rude, so he held his tongue.

"I hope she does good here. Please, take care of her," then, to his astonishment, the woman bowed down to him on the opposite side of the bars, her head hung low with her arms firmly at her side. Her daughter remained stood where she was, most likely not understanding the conversation.

Unsure of what to do, he nodded his head in a poor attempt of a bow, and she rose, smiling gratefully. Eren had no idea what was going on. Before her words could sink in, a hand patted his shoulder, and he turned to see Hannes towering over his shoulder, giving him a light smile.

"Now, what's going on here?" before he could even open his mouth, Hannes added, "While you two were getting friendly, the bell rang, so I suggest you make your way over to class," he squeezed his shoulder, before letting him go, "I'll handle it from here."

Feeling like his tongue had shrivelled away, all he could do was turn around and head back to class, leaving Hannes with the foreigners.

Eren made his way back to class, just before the teacher came in and therefore avoiding being late. He rushed to his seat, quickly taking out his equipment, and as it was now a maths lesson, he was sat on the same table as Armin, who smiled at him from the opposite side of the furniture.

The teacher handed out a simple test sheet, which caused the class to groan. She made a disapproving sound in the back of her throat, but didn't make a move to hush the class. It was a surprise test, so complaints were inevitable. Eren looked down at his sheet, sighing in relief that it was only the times tables. He knew up to his seven multiples off by heart, but had to start using his fingers if the numbers rose higher. It wouldn't be too difficult.

A pencil that wasn't his own tapped at the top of his paper, and he followed the tip up to the arm leading to Armin. "What was going on with the women?" he whispered; the teacher was distracted with passing papers, so they would have at least a minute for whispering before the test would start.

"I think we have a new student," he replied quietly, his answer catching the attention of the other four students around the table. They suddenly began asking questions, intrigued, but he ignored them, as they weren't his friends and he had no intention of becoming friendly with them. Noticing his ignorance, they sighed and gave up their attempts, muttering on how they shouldn't have expected more from Eren.

Waiting for the test to start, Eren stared at the paper, letting his mind wander. The mother by the gate had said something that was constantly ringing in his mind, and he didn't understand what the problem was. _I hope she does good here. Please, take care of her._

_Please, take care of her._

_Was she asking _him_ to look after her?_

"Alright class, you have half an hour," the teacher's voice spliced through his thoughts, and he tried to ignore the wording of the woman. She had bad English, it was probably a grammar mistake, that's all. She also said I hope she does _good_ here, which doesn't even make sense. It should've been _well_ instead of _go_-

"Your time starts now!"

He jumped, visibly startled, and shot onto his paper. _He had to concentrate_! His pencil ran through his questions, scribbling on the borderlines to help work out his answers. They were understandably easy, with a few that made him think, but they weren't a problem and he was able to get through quickly. Glancing up, he tried not to grit his teeth in envy as Armin put his pencil down, obviously finished. He admired his friend very much, but even he felt jealous sometimes of his talent. He wished he had something he was exceedingly good at.

_He was distracted again_! Glancing up at the clock that hung above the chalkboard, he noticed that only fifteen minutes had passed. He still had plenty of time, and not that many questions left. He could do it, as long as he stayed focus.

And as if the devil himself had heard him, the classroom door creaked open and distracted him completely.

Looking up, he blinked at the sight of Hannes walking in, his hands on both shoulders of the young girl at the gate. _So she was let in_, he thought to himself, the end of his pencil making its way to his mouth where he absently chewed it in thought. _So where's the mother gone?_

He murmured quietly to his teacher, who nodded in understanding, which made Eren frustrated because they could've been talking about _anything_ and he couldn't hear a thing over the sound of scribbling pencils and his own chewing. Armin patted his hand and indicated to his mouth, telling Eren that he was distracting himself when he needed to finish his test. Nodding gratefully, he looked back down to his paper. He had to finish. He had spent five minutes staring, which gave him ten more left. The other students were beginning to finish, he realised with dismay, their attention all leading to the newcomer.

_He was _still_ distracting himself_! A few more questions were answered, and he heard the door close, indicating that Hannes had left. He faintly wondered if he had taken the girl too – _Meeko_ or something. He didn't remember; it was a strange name, one he didn't know existed until now. He wondered if there were many other names out in the world that he didn't know, then finished another question on his sheet. From the corner of his eye, he noticed Armin staring at him, but didn't dare lose his concentration on his paper. His back itched, and suddenly a horrible wave of paranoia hit him. He felt like he was being watched by _everyone_; _was he the only one who hadn't finished? _

He couldn't look at them, he was almost done. Only a couple more questions to finish! He scribbled some calculations into the corner, and he blinked before realising that his page was complete. Looking up at the clock, he still had three minutes to spare. He had finished!

His gaze drifted to Armin, who was staring intently at him, his face looking uncomfortable. Looking to the other students on his table, they were _all_ looking at him. He was right, _everyone_ was staring at him! He looked around the class, confused as to the reason, when he turned to his right and his face met _Mikan-Mickey-Miko-the girl_ who was stood there and watching him.

The only bizarre thing was that she was standing _directly behind his chair. Staring at him_. Even the teacher looked concerned.

His mouth opened before his brain processed what was going on, "Ah, hello?"

Her stare was uncannily still like a doll, yet her eyes lit up at his response and she replied with a quiet, "Hello."

Taking this as an invitation, she sat down in the empty seat next to him. Eren glanced at his teacher in hopes of an explanation. She herself seemed unnerved by the presence of the student, and to his dismay she turned around and diverted the lesson, announcing "Looks like the time is up! Everyone hand in your sheets, finished or not."

Usually Eren would have been overjoyed and smug to see a large majority of the class gape in realisation that they didn't finish due to being distracted by the new student, but he was uncomfortable at the intent gaze of the girl that was sat next to him. She wouldn't stop staring at him. He looked at Armin from the corner of his eye, begging silently for help.

Luckily Armin understood this distress signal, unlike his teacher, and he let out a small smile, "H-hey there," he began, drawing the attention of the girl, "I-I'm Armin, welcome to our class."

She blinked, her mask still stiff like clay, before her gaze returned to Eren. He internally screamed; _Armin's attempts were futile_!

Her mouth opened, and the noise that came out made him openly gape.

"_Eren_."

His eyes widened, as well as the other students on his table, as she said his name clearly directed at him. _How did she know his name_? He never gave out any information, just like Armin said! Armin squinted in suspicion, to which Eren hurriedly whispered, "_I never said anything! I swear_! I have _no_ idea how she knows my name, _promise_!" His arms were wafting around in an X shape, his head shaking roughly in an attempt to prove his innocence.

"Eren?"

He gulped, facing the girl who had now _asked_ his name, and watched the satisfied twinkle in her eyes that he responded. She placed a delicate hand on her chest, and added, "Mikasa."

_That was right_, _her name was Mikasa_. Her mother had mentioned at the gate.

"I-I see…" he replied, surrendering to the situation. He was pretty sure his brain was fried at this point. She didn't look content at his response, most likely because she didn't know what he had said, so she grabbed his hand and stated a little more firmly, "_Mikasa_."

"Mikasa," he repeated, suddenly not all that concerned that she had grabbed his hand. His brain had concluded that she was one of the weirdoes that the gate was built to keep out, and because he had stood and spoken to her mother, they had let _in_ the weirdo and it was inevitably _his fault_. He was being punished, the world was doing this on purpose.

This time she looked pleased, and her lips twitched into a ghost of a smile, before she released her grip and began to take notice of her surroundings. Her eyes skimmed over every visible crack in the walls and the posters that clung on with blue tack, taking in all the colours and shades and each little detail, yet skipped over all the students seemingly ignoring their existence. The teacher had finally reached their table, she had left it until last, most likely feeling intimidated by the new student just as much as the rest of her class was. She picked up the papers, and gave a sideways glance down at Eren.

"Eren, eh, do you… Know this girl?" She asked, acting almost disinterested.

"Not officially," he replied, looking up at her. He had the look of defeat, as if he had realised the world was crushing him, "I saw her with her mum at the gate, but that's it."

The teacher kept looking back and forth at Mikasa and Eren, "I… See. Well, she'll be needing someone to show her around class. I guess that can be your job; please don't get her into any trouble."

"Right… Wait, what?" he quickly snapped out of his bubble of oppression to stare at his teacher in disbelief. To top it off she acted like she hadn't heard him, as she announced to the class, "Alright then, I couldn't introduce her during the test, but it seems we have a new student. Her name is Mikasa, and informed me that she is from another country and doesn't speak English. Please, welcome her with warm arms as another loved student, and let's hope we all get along."

Mikasa had glanced at the teacher at the mention of her name, indicating they were talking about her, but made no comment. The class let out small mews of greeting to the girl, but she showed no reaction. Disheartened, they class reduced to a quiet murmur. The students sharing a table with the girl dared not to speak.

"Well then," the teacher added, "We still have half an hour of the lesson to finish. Let's get started on Long division."

* * *

It had been two months since Mikasa joined the Primary school. Her English vocabulary had expanded exceedingly, although she still wasn't very good at complete sentences. She usually only had to speak a couple words and the context would be understood, although her vagueness was confusing during deep conversations. She had spent the entire two months following Eren around, as well as Armin, intruding into their friendship bubble and permanently adding herself into the system, which surprisingly wasn't as bad as either boy had expected. Eren had later found out that it was Hannes who had told Mikasa his name, as her mother had asked who the boy was they had spoken too, and Eren was glad, because that meant she _wasn't_ some creepy psychic that could see your life at the touch of a finger.

She was a quiet addition to the team, but did try to involve herself sometimes, showing interest in the topics the boys discussed. It wasn't bad, having another friend, despite the introduction being slightly more than awkward for all of them. So then came the time that Eren had been waiting for all year, an event that only occurred after his mother did her spring cleaning in the house.

It was time for a sleepover.

"Armin!" Eren cheered, racing into the school grounds that morning. He had spotted his blonde head wandering in moments before him, and watched as he turned around the sound of his name.

"You know what time of year it is!" he cried, pumping his fist into the air, "You coming?"

Once Armin was fully turned, his extra bag was visible hanging from his shoulder, full of clothes for the annual sleepover.

"Of course," he replied, his face developing a smile as it usually does when he met Eren. Eren grinned in reply, shouldering his own backpack to keep the strap on his shoulder. Before either could take a first step towards the school building, both boys grunt at something crashing into their backs (Armin almost fell over from the force) and both turned, irritated to be facing one of the older boys in school, who was eyeing Armin's extra bag with interest.

"What's this, blondie?" he asked, pulling the bag up, only for it to stop abruptly as Armin held the straps tightly, "You got some extra lunch in here?"

"No! It's my stuff, leave it alone!"

"Oi, beat it!" Eren shoved the boy, barely causing him to flinch, before he turned back to Eren and grabbed a fist-full of the front of his shirt and hoisted him up to his face, "Wanna try that again, mate? I'll smash your face in."

Eren squirmed in fury, balling up his fist and preparing to sock the guy in the nose, when a small yet firm hand gripped the bullies' wrist; their index finger and thumb digging deeply into the ball of his wrist. He yelped unexpectedly as the hand twisted, taking his arm along with it, causing him to release Eren almost instantaneously.

Patting his shirt down in annoyance, Eren watched as Mikasa dragged the boy's wrist away in a painful position, causing him to cry out and demand to be let go. She yanked his hand low to the ground, forcing the boy to his knees, and put her foot on the small of his back. Leaning down, she let out three ominous words.

"_Don't touch Eren_."

Her foot then kicked his back, not too roughly, forcing him to the ground. She patted her hands almost comically before returning to her friends. Or rather, to Eren first.

"Eren, you okay?"

"Eh? _I'm_ fine! He was picking on Armin _first_, you should be asking _him_ if he's alright," Eren looked faintly annoyed, most likely at the fact that he had been saved by a girl, so her gaze travelled to Armin.

"Armin, you okay?"

He rubbed the back of his head nervously, "I'm good, thank you. He didn't do anything, he was just after my bag."

Her eyes flickered down to the bag dangling awkwardly from his shoulder, before looking back to his face.

"What is it?"

"Oh, it just has some extra clothes. I'm going over to Eren's tonight; we're having a sleepover."

Mikasa turned to Eren; he was like her personal dictionary, "Sleep over?"

He grunted, beginning to continue walking to the playground where they were supposed to wait until the first bell rang, "You know, come around to a friend's house, and sleep there. Play some games together too, and have dinner together, as well as breakfast."

Her brow pinched, not understanding all of what Eren said, but she grabbed his hand with both of hers and asked, "I sleep over? I play games, at-at friend's house. Yes?"

Eren smiled, "Yeah, that's it! See, you're getting a lot better at English already."

Mikasa smiled softly in response, something that didn't occur often, usually only when she was appreciating a praise. Armin had to agree; Mikasa's English had improved tenfold, and for her to understand so much in only a month was almost miracle worthy.

"Well, we should probably get to class before we get a late again," Eren sighed, "I don't know about you guys but _I_ for one enjoy having my break times."

All agreeing, they set off to school, two of the three unaware of the true meaning of one's sentence.

* * *

By the end of the school day, crowds of children began leaving the building site, many in search of their parents, while others were trusted to walk home alone or with a friend. Eren stretched his arms above his head, grunting loudly as he muttered, "About time! We've been waiting to leave the moment we got to school!"

Armin was stood beside him, shuffling around the position of his two bags, which had been getting more of a pain to carry the longer the day drawled on. Mikasa was stood behind them, watching their backs curiously.

"Well, looks like it's time for a sleepover!" Eren hollered, catching the attention of a few kids walking past, although none stopped to ask of his outbursts, "Let's go! See you Mika-"

"Stop," Mikasa's voice rang out crisp and clear, cutting off Eren's excitement.

He faced her, confused, "What is i-"

"Come," she ordered, grabbing both his and Armin's wrists and dragging them along behind her. Confused as to where they were going, Armin let out a soft, "But we have a sleepov-"

"_Come_," she repeated, firmly shutting him up.

Eren glanced at Armin, before he rolled his eyes and mouthed _bossy_ to his friend. Armin tried to smile, but was worried with what, or _where_, Mikasa was taking them to. They passed several streets that neither Armin nor Eren was familiar with, which slowly began to build the tension at the fact that both boys had no idea where they were or what their friend's intention was.

After several minutes, Mikasa stopped at a fairly normal sized house, and looked blankly ahead with her stone gaze. "Wait," she commanded, releasing her grip and looking intently at both of her hostages.

"Wait here. _Please_."

And with that, she strode inside the house, leaving two befuddled boys at the front.

Armin gripped his hands together, meekly playing with his fingers, "Uh, do you think this is Mikasa's house?"

Eren rose his head, feeling ridiculous that the thought had never even crossed his mind.

"I-I guess that's logical."

Their feet shuffled by the pavement. A car drove past, then the noises died down to the small chirps of wild birds in the surrounding trees. Armin rubbed his arm; the strap of his extra bag was bothering him.

Soon enough, the front door reopened and out popped Mikasa, with a plump bag now on her shoulder. She strode up to them, fiddling with her own strap, before announcing, "Let us go, now."

Eren responded first, "What?"

Mikasa blinked in reply, her eyebrow twitched as she realised she hadn't said the right thing, "Um, us, leave _now_?"

Armin decided to intervene, "Can me and Eren go then?"

Mikasa smiled, "Yes!"

"Um, alright then," Eren stated, confused, "Uh, bye Mikasa."

They took a couple steps, then realised that Mikasa was walking with them.

"Eh, Mikasa, where are you going?"

She tilted her head, "Sleepover."

"Wow!" Eren exclaimed, "You convinced someone to give you a sleepover that quick? Who're you going to?"

She didn't seem to understand the question, and her brow furrowed.

"I asked. You said yes, I come."

Armin sighed, the jigsaw fitting perfectly in his mind, "Eren, I think you _unintentionally_ invited her over earlier."

_I sleep over? I play games, at-at friend's house. Yes?_

_I sleep over?_

"Oh," Eren added helpfully.

"Well," Armin shrugged his bags once more; they were beginning to ache his shoulders, before he added, "We may as well let her come. I'm sure your parents won't mind, right?"

Eren blinked, "I guess not? Sure, let's go then! Come on Mikasa."

She smiled at their conclusion, before pursuing the boys to Eren's house.

* * *

Now finally at Eren's house, Armin was thoroughly aching all over, tired from his extended walk, even more so with extra baggage to carry. He sighed, leaning his hands on his knees as they reached the front door. He just wanted to get in, sink into Eren's bed, and play videogames until his brain melted into a viscous liquid that spilled out of his ears.

Eren had his hand hovering over his door handle, lost in thought; something that Eren did often.

"We, we might have to explain why Mikasa's here, since she wasn't exactly… Expected," he muttered, more to himself, before he pressed down on the bronze handle and let his door open, inviting them all inside.

Eren's house was a little smaller than Mikasa's home, but the tight environment was surprisingly cosy and inviting. The front door led straight into the kitchen, which divided into the dining room, a boiler room, and some stairs. The upper floor only held three rooms; two bedrooms and a bathroom. A very small house indeed.

They crept through the kitchen, Eren peered around the corners in sight of his parents, before turning to face his friends and whispering a "Try not to draw attention. We're heading for the stairs," and to make sure Mikasa understood, he held a finger to his mouth, his other hand pointing to the staircase at the opposite end of the dining room. Both Mikasa and Armin nodded, and guided by Eren, they made their way to the stairs.

Eren pondered where his parents could be, considering they were usually in the kitchen, and prayed that they weren't upstairs waiting for him. They all crept up the stairs, making as little noise as possible, before being guided into one of the bedrooms successfully. Eren closed the door behind them, sighing as he practically sank into the door. Armin removed his luggage, copying Eren's actions, only replacing the door with the bed. Mikasa also removed her luggage, but stood still due to there being nowhere else to sigh into. She looked at her feet, wondering why they hadn't removed their shoes by the front door, like they do at her house.

After a minute of the boys resting, Eren finally stirred from the door and removed his jacket, exposing the lighter shirt underneath. He tossed the garment on the end of his bed, where it partially covered Armin's foot. Armin kicked it off gently, curling into himself to reach his feet where he continued to pull off his shoes. Eren also removed his shoes, tossing them into the corner, so Mikasa did the same (although she placed her shoes down gently, she didn't want to damage them).

Now that they were mostly comfortable, Eren made his way over to his television and messed with the console that was being used as a stand for the screen, pulling out some controllers and turning on the television. Mikasa watched, intrigued as Eren and Armin grabbed the controllers, beginning to play the game.

"Me and Armin's gonna play first," Eren stated, looking at Mikasa, "So you can see how we play, so then you can play next, okay?"

She nodded, not too sure on what her friend had said. She continued to watch intently, beginning to get immersed into the game, even making irritated noises when one died or excited gasps when one nearly reached the end. It was some sort of platform game, racing against the clock and each other, trying to get to the end first. In the end, Eren won, to which he hooted in victory, with Mikasa sharing his excitement by their side. As such, Armin nudged Mikasa with the remote, passing her the controller for her turn.

There was no special buttons, she only had to press the up, down, left and right buttons, so there was no use explaining how to play. Eren restarted the game, and Mikasa quickly got the hang of the game, easily overtaking Eren and beating him with plenty of time to spare.

"Sweet Maria," Eren cried, "You're like some sort of gaming prodigy! Armin, quick, defend the name of males everywhere and avenge me!" He tossed the controller at Armin, feigning a dramatic death on the floor. Mikasa watched in amusement, not too sure on what was going on.

Armin hugged the remote tightly to his chest, dramatically announcing, "Oh no, my good friend! I shall try my very best to bring honour back to your name, by defeating this strong encounter!" he pointed the controller at Mikasa like a sword; her mouth twitched, as if she was beginning to comprehend the bizarre act around her.

"To battle!" he cried.

Mikasa lifted her remote in response, the beginnings of a smirk reaching her lips.

"To battle," she echoed.

* * *

The clock hung on Eren's wall indicated that it had gone past 8pm, and all the children were laying together on Eren's bed, all struggling to fit on the single bed. Armin was the only one laying correctly; his head was resting on the pillow, his legs bent in order to leave room for the other two. Nestled around his bent legs lied Eren, whose back was hanging precariously from the bedside, his head hanging upside down off the bed with the tips of his hair tickling the floor. Mikasa lay snugly at the end of the bed, her own body curled around the back of Armin's toes, her own feet almost meeting his face, while her face was by Eren's hip. They all had their eyes closed, talking about whatever random things decided to enter their minds at the given time.

"Hey, what's the date today?"

"Uh, March 16th?"

Eren grinned, "Sweet, I'm almost nine."

"_Lucky_, I still have months until my birthday."

They all fidgeted slightly, trying to avoid kicking each other.

"Say, Mikasa, when's your birthday?"

She caught on when they were addressing dates, "February."

"Wait, seriously?" Eren attempted to lift his head, but the blood had rushed to his brain making it feel too heavy to move. He gave up and flinched when he felt the back of his head hit the side of his bed.

"We missed your birthday!" he grit his teeth.

"Happy belated birthday?" Armin added.

"So, does that mean you're nine now? Or eight?"

"I have ten years."

"Wha?"

Even Armin rose his head at that point, "Ten? You sure?"

Mikasa nodded her head, eyes still comfortably closed.

"Huh. You shouldn't be in our year then, surely. You'd be heading off to Secondary school this year if you were in the right class."

Her eyes scrunched up, not understanding the conversation topic.

"Eh, maybe we should just drop it."

"Yeah…"

"So, did you hear about the p-"

Eren's door slammed open, startling all of the children from the bed. Eren fell off altogether.

"Eren!" his mother cried, kneeling beside her son and crushing him in a deep hug, "Where have you _been_!? My goodness, we thought you'd been _taken_!"

His father was standing by the door, a stern frown on his face, his forehead damp in a nervous sweat, "You didn't come home before curfew, and we went looking down the neighbourhood for you. Where on _Earth_ had you gone?"

It was by then his mother noticed the others in the room.

"Oh, Armin, it's nice to see you. And, who's this?" Her gaze was on Mikasa, who was busy watching Eren suffocating in his mother's grasp. Armin decided to answer for her, "This is Mikasa, a friend of ours. She's new, and we had gone to her house first so she could get some things for the sleepover. We're sorry for being late, we didn't know you would worry so much."

Kalura looked between all three children, one of which was suffocating in her chest. She let out a soft sigh, releasing her grip on her son and allowing him to breathe.

"There have been child snatchers reported recently," she sighed, her hand gripping at her apron gently, "So from now on, you are to come home as soon as you leave school. Am I understood young man?"

"What!?" Eren whined, only just getting his breath back, "That's not fair! That's far too early!"

"No Eren," his father sighed, intervening, "Your mother is right to be concerned. Child snatchers are a serious thing, and we don't want to lose you, alright. Please, just do as we ask."

Eren continued to whine and fuss, but didn't argue further. They were about to leave his room when his mother stopped by his door.

"Eren," she began, a little awkwardly, "Are you sure it's fine for… Well, for a _lady_ to be sleeping in here with you and Armin?"

"Eh, what do you mean?"

His mother looked nervous, but gave a reassuring smile, "Nothing. Just be sure she gets changed in the bathroom, and _no peeking_."

Eren scrunched up his nose, "Ew, why would we peek? We're not gross like that, mum!"

Her smile came off a little more naturally at the response, and she left the room, closing the door on the way out.

"Well, that was awkward," Eren grumbled, rubbing the back of his head in irritation. He looked up at Armin and Mikasa, who were both peering down at him from the bed.

"So, uhh, what were we talking about?"

* * *

Eren halted halfway through lifting his shirt off of his head when he heard Mikasa, "I'm sorry, _what_?"

She kept herself from laughing as he peered at her through the hole of his shirt, partway undressed. Instead, she repeated, "I have to do… _Things_."

She didn't know the English word, and it was obvious from his expression that he didn't know what she was implying. Instead, she rummaged through her bag, lifting out a laminated piece of paper with images of figures posing.

"_This_," she murmured, not sure on how he'd react. Armin curiously peered over Eren's shoulder to look at the paper, then released a, "Wow, you can do these Mikasa? These are some really serious fighting moves."

"So you have to do this every night?" Eren asked, reading the paper intently. Mikasa could practically see the cogs turning in his head, and gave a faint nod in response.

"What if we did them all together?" he announced, eyes twinkling in excitement.

"Ah, all of us?" she asked. Both boys seemed energetic at the idea, and it was slightly embarrassing having people watch her make the funny poses. She supposed doing them together wouldn't hurt.

"You can try."

"Sweet! Thanks Mikasa!"

Eren's finger skimmed over the images, as he muttered, "No wonder you could take on that bully so easily," then looked at Mikasa directly in the eye, proclaiming, "You're so strong Mikasa! I want to be strong like you! I _will_ be, and you can help me get there!"

_**You're**__ strong._

_**I want**__ to be strong. _

_**You**__ can help __**me**__._

Her eyes twinkled in wonder, "_Really_?"

"Hell yeah you can! Together, all three of us will be impossible to beat!"

He grabbed his friends by their shoulders, pulling them in for a hug-of-sorts, and Mikasa couldn't help but feel important for once.

* * *

Mikasa didn't turn up for school.

Such a phenomenon was almost impossible to occur, but it had. In the past two years that Mikasa had lived there, she had never missed a day of school. A single day would be understandable, as not everyone was immune to sickness, but the idea that she just wasn't there was extremely uncomfortable to think about. Eren sat on his table, fidgeting in thought as to what Mikasa was up to, and what could have possibly made her not appear to school. In the corner of his eye, Eren could see Armin rub his arm uncomfortably; he was also troubled by the fact that Mikasa had just upped and vanished. Her parents hadn't even called; they had asked the reception office as soon as the first lesson had ended.

Something wasn't right.

Rain hit the windows as heavy as stones, making them rattle and quiver against the harsh weather. It was now October and things had gotten unbelievably chilly, the weather had turned foul at the prospect of Halloween, it seemed.

A rumble was heard in the distance, but no flash had been seen beforehand. It must have been a while away, which was good. He didn't want to summon lightning anytime soon, even if it did release an exhilarating light show.

Class eventually ended, and despite it being two years, Eren's curfew was still as soon as he left the school gates. He couldn't find it in him to complain anymore, it never got anything sorted and that in itself only annoyed him.

He tightened the scarf around his neck, lifting it above his mouth. Rain was still pouring heavily, and although he was wearing his hood, it did little to protect his face. The scarf wasn't as helpful, but it was better than nothing.

He exited the school grounds in a hurry, having to need to get home as soon as he could, and nearly missed the weak cry of his name in the pelting rain. He skid to a stop, turning to see Mikasa, soaked to the bone, wearing a simple dress and wearing no shoes. She shivered uncontrollably, a soft hiccup being heard now and again, and he couldn't tell if she was crying or if she was sick, but he rushed over to her, placing his hands on her soggy shoulders, as he let out an exasperated, "What are you _doing_ out in this weather!? And dressed like _that_, too!?"

She gave no response, only gripping one of his hands off of her shoulder, before she gave a deep sniff and stared at him with a stone cold glare that she hadn't used on him for a long time.

"I want a sleepover," She stated, her voice eerily calm despite the childish hiccups moments before, "_Now_."

And before he knew it, _she_ was leading _him_ to his house. Confused, he hastily removed his scarf and attempted to give her some protection from the rain, but all he really did was dump it on her head. It fell around her face in woven tendrils, and she stopped stride for a split second to observe the fabric, before continuing her steady and strong stride to his house.

Once inside the house, Eren's mother attempted a welcome, before seeing the state of his friend and rushing to her aid. She forced her into one of the dining chairs, swiftly ordering Eren to get the first aid box, as she tended to the dishevelled girl.

"My dear gracious, what happened to you sweet-pea?" she asked, rubbing a towel into the girl's hair. She needed to find some of her clothes for her to wear; her soaked dress clung to her body, making her look thin and sickly, and it was breaking her heart.

She had had Mikasa over many times in the past two years, and admired her for being such a strong friend to both Eren and Armin. To see her in such a poor state tore at her heart strings.

"I'm… Having a sleepover tonight. Here, if that's okay," was the only thing that came out of Mikasa's mouth. Her expression was cold and unseeing, she was staring intently at the wall, showing no interest in giving an explanation.

Kalura saw the hidden message instantly, "And, how long will this sleepover last?" she asked, not all surprised with the answer.

"As long as I am able."

Eren had come in with the first aid box, placing it on the table beside them, before taking a seat next to Mikasa, giving off a sense of irony.

"You alright Mikasa?" he asked, nervous about how indifferent and cold she became out of the blue. Although her expressions were usually limited, she herself was regularly content and pleased; now she was like that doll he had met from behind the bars, only slightly older and with a much more tense feeling. He didn't like the change.

"I am alive," she replied curtly.

"Being alive doesn't mean you're _well_," Eren muttered, before his mother scolded him with, "This isn't the time for your bickering Eren, please just leave me to it. Go change, you're just as soaked as Mikasa is. And get your father to fetch one of my nightgowns for Mikasa; she'll catch her death!"

With Eren out of the way, she lifted Mikasa's leg onto her lap, dabbing the bottom of her feet tenderly with a cotton ball in an attempt to remove any dirt. Fresh open cuts littered the bottom of her feet, which was most surely sore, yet Mikasa showed no discomfort as she cleaned them out and flushed them in vinegar. She noticed Eren's scarf, sopping wet and hanging uselessly from her neck. Gently, she removed the cloth, and watched with interest as Mikasa's fingers twitched as if about to pull it back, but she restrained herself.

"Let's set this out on the radiator so it can dry. It's no use if it's soggy," she explained carefully, setting the fabric on the side, wondering how Mikasa got a hold of it when she had woven the scarf herself for Eren. Mikasa made no remark and had no plan to do anything, leaving Kalura in the dark of her own conversation.

She was rescued by Eren's return; he had changed into his night wear, a loose shirt and shorts, with one of her old nightgowns tucked in his arms. He dropped the fabric onto the table by Mikasa, and announced, "I'll go clean up my bed. I'll sleep on the pull out." He was referring to the poor excuse of a bed he had folded up in his wardrobe that he usually let his guests sleep in for sleepovers, and Kalura was glad that he at least had the dignity to let Mikasa rest in the _actual_ bed and not the pull out. She contemplated on whether it was smart to let him sleep in the same room, considering the state Mikasa was in, but there was nowhere else for her son to go, so there was no other choice.

"Come on then Pip," she smiled empathetically at the girl, who was still staring intently at the wall, "Go take this into the bathroom and get yourself changed. Here," she added a towel onto the pile, "may as well dry up while you're in there too."

* * *

Eren rubbed his towel on his neck, wondering briefly if it was alright to walk into his room, and slightly intimidated at what Mikasa could be doing inside. Her new side was taking control of her like a sickly weed, and it made her seem so, _creepy_, that he didn't want to face her alone. He wished Armin was here, he could help. He was still the brains of the group, he would've known what to do in this situation. Deciding to just wing it, he gave a brief knock to alert he was entering before opening the door.

Inside, Mikasa had settled for the corner of his bed, her legs up, knees hiding her face, with her arms encasing her legs together. She was wearing his mother's nightgown, which completely swallowed up her small figure like a blanket, making her appear more vulnerable and just plain miserable. Like Eren, she had settled her towel around her shoulders, allowing her hair to air dry after taking a quick shower.

It was almost nine o'clock, which meant that his mother was expecting them to sleep soon, although he doubted anyone would sleep well tonight. He opened his wardrobe, reaching inside to unfold the pathetic foldable mattress curled up inside, to lay out on the floor, before picking up his spare covers nestled in the corner and threw it on top. Lovely.

Sighing, he flopped onto the makeshift bed, feeling his body bounce back up at the impact, but not really caring. He moved his head to peer up at Mikasa, who hadn't moved from her position. They remained like that for a while, until he heard Mikasa let out a faint, "Eren?"

"Yeah?" he hoped he didn't sound too eager.

"Can you… Can you do me a favour?"

"Yeah, sure, anything!"

She remained quiet, as if contemplating her own question, before asking aloud, "Can I borrow your scarf again? Kalura put it on the radiator in the dining room."

A strange request, Eren concluded, but he did say he'd do _anything_, so he rose and padded out the room, collecting the item, before returning back to his room. It wasn't completely dry, but it had certainly warmed up, so he dumped the fabric carelessly onto her knees and head, similar to what he had done in the rain.

"There, you can keep it if you'd like. Then you can do whatever you want with it."

A strange noise escaped the back of her throat, as a strangled "T_-thank you_," was released. He turned off the light, with nothing but the dying embers of the sunset filtering through the window. As soon as the sun dipped out of sight, Mikasa let out a muffled cry, weeping into the scarf she was hugging into dearly. Eren, feeling powerless to do anything, lied down into his mattress, and prayed that Mikasa would find peace soon.

* * *

Mikasa had been locked up in Eren's room for three days.

She wasn't physically locked in, although Eren's father said that whatever she went through has put a mental barrier in her path, preventing her from leaving from her safety shell and refusing to tell anyone what happened. It got to the point where Kalura attempted to call her parents to at least tell them where she was, but to their surprise Mikasa had left Eren's room to physically grab the phone and end the call, stating very gravely not to try to do that again.

They had left it at that.

Eren was still attending school, and had informed the staff that Mikasa was very ill and was occupying his home due to his father being a doctor. They had taken the lie like a moth to a flame. Armin, on the other hand, was suspicious, as he knew that his father was a travelling doctor, and would _visit_ ill people, not bring them into the leisure of his own home, but all Eren could say was that something bad was happening and he wasn't allowed to talk about it.

Inside Eren's room, Mikasa was curled up under his covers, feverishly tossing and turning from her memories taking over her dreams.

_She knew it, she had known she was being followed home. _

_Kalura had warned Eren so many times about the Child Snatchers, and even though she had been wary, she hadn't been expecting this. _

_They were following her._

_There were several of them; adults with their hands in their pockets, casually walking in her direction, but every time she stopped, they would find some excuse to stop too._

_She ran to her house._

_Surely they would give up once she was in the safety of her home? Child snatchers only snatched children who were unsupervised, but here she was with her parents, safe and sound_.

"_Mikasa? What's the rush?" her mother asked, arms open for an embrace. She ran into them, letting out a concerned, "I think I was followed home, Mother. What if they're the child snatchers?"_

"_Child snatchers?" she asked, eyebrows furrowed. Her father walked in, chuckling to himself, "Now now Mikasa, the Child Snatchers are only a story the locals tell their children to make them come in before curfew, they're not real."_

"_But I was followed home by three men," she whispered, suddenly not believing her own words. Her father said they weren't real, so it must be so. He wouldn't lie, he was an adult._

_Suddenly there was a knock on the door. Mikasa felt like a fist had been shoved down her throat._

_Her dad, bemused by her expression, went to the door and opened it, smiling at the man on the outside._

"_Hey there," the stranger grunted, "Did a little girl come in here? We noticed her drop this and was trying to return it to her. She's got little fast feet though; shot away before I could give it back."_

_Liar, she thought. She had stopped several times, and they had stopped simultaneously behind her. They were lying._

"_Ah, thank you," her father smiled, turning to face Mikasa from the doorway, "See? They didn't mean to scare you," he turned back to the door, "Thank y-"_

_Blood splattered across the wooden floor, soaking into the floorboards and dribbling into the house._

_Her mother rose quickly, shooting to the front door, equip with scissors, as she began screaming in her native tongue. Mikasa couldn't move. How could she? Her father was slumped on the floor, his clothes absorbing his blood like a sponge. He had taught her how to defend herself. He had made her train every night, all of those techniques that she sometimes even shared with Eren and Armin, and she couldn't even use them._

_Her mind was blank._

_Looking up at the door, watching her mother struggle against the three men, her ears had turned deaf and she almost missed her mother's lips move in a way only she could read._

"_Hashitte!"_

_Run._

_Closing her eyes, Mikasa shot forward, barrelling straight into her own mother, ignoring the scream of anguish as her mother was impaled by the knife that one held, and shoved herself through the men and ran._

_She kept running and running._

_Running away from her dead parents._

_Running away from her home._

_Running away from not being able to fight back._

_Running away. _

_Because she was a coward._

_She was sure she had lost them by now; they were probably in a hurried attempt to hide her parent's bodies, unless they wanted to be the top headline of the news. Unsure of where to go, she kept running, at one point she tripped and lost her shoe, but she didn't care nor feel it from the rush of adrenaline that came with fear._

_She reeked of it._

_And like the fearful, pathetic animal she was, she hid in the shadows of the school gate, praying that she would not be found by those men._

_But after falling asleep and finding herself there in the early afternoon of the next day, whilst it poured with rain, she had never felt more relieved to see Eren than she did then. It wasn't until after she decided to go with him did she regret it. Because now not only was she endangering Eren's family, but she was hiding there as if it would shield her from the fact that she had just left her parents to be killed. _

_It didn't._

_Eren's mother even attempted to call her home, and she couldn't allow that. If those men – those beasts were still there, they could follow the call straight to Eren's home and slaughter them too. She didn't want that. Not ever again._

* * *

By the fourth day, it was the weekend, and Eren no longer had an excuse to leave the house. He had nothing planned with Armin, so he sat in his room, twiddling his thumbs, every now and again peering up at Mikasa, who was still assituated in the corner of his bed.

He sighed, hoping to catch her attention.

She didn't react.

He decided it was time to be brave and actually talk to her, "Hey, Mikasa."

Her head twitched, as if startled by his presence.

"What's your favourite food?"

Her eyes lifted from her position, peering over her scarf. Her eyebrows curled in a confused expression.

"Well then?"

"Uhm… Boiled Rice?"

She had probably just blurted out the first food she could think of, but Eren didn't care. He rose from his mattress, "Right then! Your dress is nice and clean now, get dressed, we're gonna go buy some rice! Right now, chop chop!"

She watched, confused, and tried not to flinch as he roughly pulled her off of his bed. She didn't want to leave her corner, she wanted to wallow some more in her self-pity. She grumbled quietly in protest, but he was more stubborn than she was, and after a few tugs he had successfully yanked her off the bed, and she landed uncomfortably onto his mattress.

"Come on," he huffed, "I am not carrying your lazy butt to the shop. Use those feet of yours!"

Slowly, she began to rise from the ground. He grinned, glad to see that she just needed a little push to help her get better, and went to retrieve her dress. He shoved it into her face, no longer wanting to play house maid.

"Get dressed! I'll see if any of mum's shoes fit you, but we're going in five minutes. _No exceptions_."

And with that he shut his door in on her, expecting her to be well dressed by the time he got back.

He probably went over his time limit burrowing through the years' worth of shoes collected in the boiler room, but eventually found some girly shoes that looked like they'd fit her, at least for a trip to the shop. He knocked on his door, and grinned when she opened it herself, handing her the shoes.

"Okay then!" he announced, patting his pocket, "I have some change, and we're gonna buy some rice! That's the plan, right?"

Uncertain of what Eren wanted from her, she gave a nod as an answer.

"So, let's go!"

And with that, he pulled her outside towards their destination.

* * *

The day was dull, Mikasa noted, being dragged along by her wrist by her friend. She vaguely wondered if this was how he and Armin had felt when she had dragged them to her house a couple years back, but the thought quickly dissipated to the back of her mind. She still felt cold, undeniably so.

She was sure she wasn't physically cold. She _knew_ she wasn't. But she couldn't think of a better English word to describe the feeling. She contemplated on the word _depressed_, but even that didn't seem to fit. She was just, _cold_.

She didn't like it.

Yet no move was made by her to try get the icky feeling away. And here Eren was, pulling her along, trying to warm her up without even realising. And for the most part, it _was_ working, at least a little bit. At first she didn't want the comfort, the contact, but living solitary in the corner of a room for a few days began some weird cravings, one of which was for attention. And Eren was now doing that, not really in a nice way, but he wasn't ignoring her, and that gave her stomach a funny, yet pleasant feeling.

She didn't deserve his attention.

Now that she had found her own pace, he finally let go of her wrist, allowing her to walk freely by his side. She missed this, acting normal. She did, but she doubted she could ever really feel the same way, or look at things the same way as she did before. Now, the dark corners concealed bad things, and she felt like a stray cat with a bad case of pilo-erection.

A hand, too big to be Eren's, gripped her shoulder as she passed an alleyway. Her instinct was to run, but his other hand slapped over her mouth, pulling her into the alleyway where another man lay. These were the men who murdered her parents, the child snatchers. Of course they'd recognise her instantly, what was she expecting. There would've been no other outcome. It was going to end like this. She screamed into the burly hand, although muffled it was certainly easy to hear, and his grip tightened on her.

"Shut it girly!" he hissed, the other man fiddling with his knife.

"You know, we probably could've gotten more for the mother," he sulked, "She at least was a pure bred. This girl, although looks pretty enough, is technically a mutt. She won't sell for nearly as much."

"Oh who cares?" he grumbled, "At least she will sell for a lot. We can get our pay, and leave her with whatever weirdo buys her. I don't care, I just want my money. If she hadn't ran home like that, we probably could've caught her without killing anybody."

The other man shrugged, and Mikasa tried her hardest to keep in her tears because she was done, it was over, and she couldn't do anything.

"HEY! Get off her you punks!"

The man grabbing Mikasa grunted, releasing his hold on her as Eren tackled the man over, startling the one with the knife. The weapon slipped from his fingers, and Eren grabbed it as soon as it was in sight. He raised it in front of his face, standing between Mikasa and the men, screeching bloody murder at them, similar to her mother days previous.

"Don't you dare come near us, you hear!? You sick monsters, _damn you all to hell_! Now back off, we'll get the police on you!"

"_Like hell_ you'll use that knife," the man grunted, walking straight up to him, attempting to grab the weapon back. He froze at the feeling of cold metal slashing through his throat, watching in horror as his own voice poured out of the wound along with his blood. He slumped to the ground, and Mikasa felt a horrid sense of Deja vu.

"You _little bitch_!" the second man screeched, rushing towards Eren, and to Mikasa's surprise, Eren copied the man, rushing straight at him, stabbing the knife into the man's torso. He gasped, lowering to his knees as Eren continuously stabbed the in the gut, each jab tilting the body closer and closer to the floor, until his back finally hit the ground, the noise cushioned by his own blood.

Eren panted from the exertion, then turned to face Mikasa, "You okay?" he asked, just like she had done when protecting him from the bully all those years ago.

She knew that Eren had just committed the exact same thing that the Child Snatchers had, but she couldn't bring herself to fear him. He had _protected_ her. Like she had when he got grabbed by the bully. They were both doing the same thing. He wasn't just slaughtering some random family, he was doing it to protect someone.

His reasons were _justified_. They made sense. And she faintly wondered if she could possess the power to do that herself.

The third man arrived late to the scene. He must have put the pieces together, because he charged straight for Eren, kicking the knife out of his reach and hauling his small body into the air by his neck.

"You _bastard_!" he cried, shaking Eren furiously like a dog with a toy, "You killed them! You _fucking killed them!"_

"I did," he gasped, "And I'll… do it again, and again. Because… I'll keep f-fighting… So I can _win_…"

His foggy gaze drifted to Mikasa, "_Fight to win_! That's… That's how you survive!"

She remembers playing the video game in his room, fighting against him and Armin for first place. Practicing offensive and defensive fighting moves. She had been doing it every day. Fighting. _Winning_. Now she just needed to do what she always did.

Her eyes flickered to the gleaming knife sitting by her feet. She wondered how comfortable it would feel in her palm.

Not wishing to waste more time, she picked it up, feeling the heavy wooden handle that was unshaped for her hands. She gripped it tightly, feeling it splinter under her grip. It'd have to do, she had to fight! She wouldn't let Eren die, not like how she had let her parents! She would fight, and this time _she would win_!

* * *

They both stared at the bodies, stuffed in the back of the alleyway, drowning in their own blood.

Mikasa glanced down at her borrowed shoes, not feeling as good as she'd like to. She _survived_; she had _saved Eren_, she had _fought_ and she had _won_. She had _avenged_ her parent's deaths.

But she didn't feel happy about it. The fact just sat like a rock in her stomach, present but not welcome. She felt cold again. It wasn't a good feeling.

She watched as Eren leaned down to pick up a piece of fabric, realising a moment too late that it was her scarf. She glanced down at her bare neck, wondering when it had fallen off, and not complaining when he sloppily wrapped it back onto her. It was a little better done than last time, at least. He was improving. Good for him.

She was sure that her face was bruised from how the man had grabbed her, but made no move to inspect it. The presence of the scarf made her feel even better than previous, which didn't make sense.

She glanced at Eren, who glanced back at her.

"What do we do now?" she asked, her voice disturbingly monotone.

Eren's wasn't much better. He went to the body that had the knife deeply embedded into his back. He couldn't pull the knife out, but he managed to wiggle the broken handle off, and left the alleyway, looking for an open drainage. Finding one on the street corner, he pushed the broken wooden end down the pipe, leading to the sewage treatment where it would be mistaken as driftwood. The evidence that they had any contact with the knife was gone forever.

Staring back to Mikasa, he let out a forced smile, murmuring, "Let's get your rice another day. For now, we'll go home."

He grabbed her wrist again, albeit this time much more tenderly, and she couldn't help the tears that streaked down her face. _Home_.

"Yes," her lip quivered, "Let's go home. _Together_."

* * *

_AN: Just to help setting-wise in case this doesn't occur in US schools, in the UK classes do not have separate desks for each student. Instead, there are a group of 4-5 tables in the class, and chairs are sat around all visible sides of the tables, so there a pocket of students sat together (usually 8 people can sit together). It's pretty much the same as how tables are set in meetings, if that makes sense._

_This is also set in a rural environment – I've always lived out by fields and woods, so this story mostly uses real experiences I've dealt with. _

_The idea of the foreign student came from a friend of mine who I met in Primary School in year 4; she was Polish and the only English words she knew was 'yes', 'no' and 'monster', and she had to learn the entire English vocabulary during her stay. She now speaks perfect English and is becoming a dentist, in which I am very proud for her. Of course, she didn't drag people to her houses and do the stuff that Mikasa does in the story._

_Also, woops, forget people don't know this. Pilo-erection is where the fur on the back of an animal rises, usually when feeling threatened._

_I'm aware there are many mistakes; I wrote all 11,000+ words in one day, and although I proof read it, I know that a lot of stuff doesn't add up._

_I am planning a second chapter to complete this, however by now everyone inconstancy of my writing, so there is a high possibility I won't get around to doing it. If not, then use your imagination as the filler._


End file.
